. >> reporter: after years of denials, stein file tour de france winner lance armstrong admitted to oprah winfrey he did use performance-enhancing drugs. >> in all seven of your tour de france victories, did you ever take banned substances or blood dope? >> yes. >> reporter: it's an admission armstrong had spent more than a decade denying. >> i've used this situation as one big lie that i repeated a lot of times. >> reporter: those who have followed armstrong say tonight's admission is self-serving. >> i believe that he is completely insincere except for this, he is starting to repair his own brand. >> reporter: a brand that was loss millions in endorsements after armstrong was stripped of his seven tour de france titles. on thursday, the international olympic committee stripped armstrong of the bronze medal he won during the 2000 sidney olympics. >> i'll spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people. >> reporter: accolades gone for a sports icon now coming clean. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> and a quick programming note, this morning on the "today" show, exclu